Illuminated indicators are commonly provided with electronic devices near or integrated with a display or a keypad of the device to indicate the status of the device.
A problem arises when attempting to selectively illuminate a particular indicator such that light from a selective light source does not bleed into a nearby indicator. This problem has been solved, in general, by placing an opaque barrier between the particular indicator and the nearby indicator. Typical opaque barriers include an opaque housing wall disposed between the particular indicator and the nearby indicator and an opaque paint coating the side surfaces of the particular indicator. Thus, the light emitted within the particular indicator is prohibited from being coupled to the nearby indicator. While these solutions have proven effective for some applications they leave much to be desired in others.
For instance, when the selectively illuminated indicator is a particular actuator of a keypad, the opaque barrier also prohibits illumination of the actuator from a general light source used to illuminate several actuators. In order to illuminate all the actuators of the keypad including the particular actuator, the selective light source in addition to the general light source is activated resulting in increased current drain. Furthermore, a second selective light source is added in some cases (such as when using light emitting diode lighting) to produce selective illumination of the particular actuator in a color different than that emitted by the general light source while providing illumination of all the actuators in one color.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved selectively illuminated keypad and method of making the same.